e a r t h

“You want me to move in with you?” If the question had come from anyone else Bastien would have just laughed in their face, but he knew the dryad was serious. And the witch would have to disappoint him yet again. He watched as Ekho produced a box from under the bed and couldn’t help but smile, he wasn’t really used to gifts, at least not ones that he hadn’t had to buy for himself. The contents of the box were… Well. “Oh, you going to put this on for me?”

-

Ekho grinned a little, “There’s plenty of room in this place.” Plus, everyone else was having people move in. He didn’t want to be left behind, especially when Aster, Gael, and that manticore were taking up one room together. “What? No, it’s for you to wear.” He didn’t even think about it for himself, pulling it towards him and holding it up, “I thought it’d match your hair.”

“Rent is expensive in the city.” Bastien shrugged, he didn’t really like his roommate all that much. Aydin was bossy, rude, short-tempered, and painfully straight. But, he was probably Bastien’s best friend in the city. “The bed is fine, but do you really want to sleep on something that other people have slept on already?”

-

“Then live here. You won’t have rent,” he didn’t really understand that, anyway. Earth was earth, so how could someone own it? And then make people pay them to stay on it for a brief amount of time? Weird. “Oh, I got you something.” Ekho moved to pull a box from beneath the bed, and he waved his hand, “If you want a new one, fine, bring yours.” Pushing the box towards Bas, he grinned, “I got it while thrifting with Eurydice.” The sexy santa lingerie was a nice color, anyway.

The prospect of bed bugs seemed to not have occurred to any of these dryads while the thought of them alone was starting to make the witch’s skin crawl. “Very thoughtful of you.” Bastien said, “I wouldn’t mind if we picked out our own though.” The witch added, not wanting to offend the dryad by rejecting what Eury had picked out for them already. “You haven’t seen my place yet either,” Bastien thought about the mattress he had on the floor, maybe he would clean up. “I have a roommate, Aydin. You’ll like him.” 

-

Ekho leaned back a little bit, studying Sebastien’s features. “You live with someone, too?” Was that jealousy the dryad was feeling? He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of some other person invading their privacy together. Instead of voicing that, Ekho just looked away, “Is this bed not good enough? I jumped on it a few times, made sure it wouldn’t break.”

“It is a foolish decision, if you ask me. How will they defend themselves against attack?” The fact that they would attempt to ask the same of Aella is simply madness to the woman. The mortals of this age walk around with no armor and no weapons, so blindly trusting in the world around them to do them no harm, and she cannot understand it. Even a small blade is better than nothing. “They have lost their respect. They do not know us anymore.” It’s a troubling thought to the dryad. She never would’ve thought they’d become so obscure in this world, before they were put into their sleep. 

“The only serious lover I ever had had many prospects!” She doesn’t mean to snap, but the only person who could ever really fluster her would be him. Perhaps Aster, Gael would never get her into such a state. Her face is hot and Eurydice isn’t even sure why, her and Aristaeus had hardly consummated what hardly counted as an actual relationship. Stepping further down the little aisle to look at more tables, she frowns, disappointed in herself. There’d been others, but nothing had really sparked emotionally aside from fondness. “If I remember correctly, you were the first one to bring someone back to the forest.”

-

“Well, then you should make sure you have many prospects. If someone tries to have more than you, then you simply beat them by making more people interested in you. You could probably do it in one of these outfits. I mean, look at the plastic woman. She holds her spot all day like that to wear these outfits.” He motioned to the mannequin, “Anyway, of course I was the first one to come back. I had to beat Aster and Gael. They’re awful to listen to. I told Aster to move his tree away from mine.”

“It’s something, yes.” Bastien commented sincerely, when it rained - which this was Greece so it inevitably would, everything in here would be ruined. It was obvious that Ekho was trying though, Bas didn’t really know how that made him feel. Harmless fun, that’s all this had been for several months. He’d gotten the impression that labels weren’t something Ekho and the dryads had much use for, but he’d met Gael now - and he saw how the tall one and him looked at one another. It was nice. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a thrift store.” Bas answered honestly, he’d been very privileged growing up, and that didn’t change now that he had access to a trust. “Is that- is that where you got the bed from?”

-

Ekho grinned a little at the acceptance, though the other’s next question made him shrug, “Don’t know. Eurydice picked most of the beds out. I just requested one for you. Because I remembered how much you hate being on your knees on soft grass.” The dryad smirked as he ruffled Bastien’s hair, moving straight into the bedroom. “It could be ours. I’m always willing to share my room. Any time you want, you can come here.”

“I do not like this time,” Aella announces, strolling inside the house the other dryads have found. Her attention shifts to Ekho, the closest of her kin around, deciding that he shall be the ear she vents to. “A human man tried to tell me I could not carry my axe with me, that weapons are not permitted in the public.” As if she would ever leave it behind. How else would Aella protect herself, from those that would intend her harm? That would attempt to take her for her magic? To not carry it with her is simply madness, in the dryad’s mind. “He presumed to have the right to speak to me as such, as if I could not split him in half where he stood.” ( @ekhoxalseides​ )

“I think it would require more fabric.” But wasn’t the point of the lingerie to be next to nothing? Or to tantalize? Perhaps it was perfect, and yet….Blinking, the mental image of Ekho in such a garment makes something inside her cringe. They’ve all seen each other in the nude many a time, they did not share modesty with the mortals, but somehow the lingerie is too far and she childishly wants to shudder. But she does not and instead Eurydice looks from him to the tables again and tries to gauge what is an appropriate height. It is supposed to be a short table, she knows that much. “Whom I fancy is none of your concern. What of this Bastien then, hmm? Has anyone else met him?” But the way she crosses her arms over her chest and pouts is definitely childish, she’s short of stomping her foot and claiming she doesn’t “fancy” anyone.

-

“More fabric?” Ekho frowned, looking at the sexy santa lingerie. “I guess. But I’ll still get it. It’s not a lot.” He held onto it, walking behind Eurydice now as they continued to wander. “It is my concern. Why wouldn’t it be my concern? I need to make sure you’re safe. We all know Aster would fuck the first person who showed interest in him, so I need to make sure you’re picking correctly.”

@ekhoxalseides​

The house that Ekho was living in clearly hadn’t been inhabited for some time, the furniture all looked like it had come from the dump and there was an almost alarming amount of inhabitants for the small space. Still, it beat the mattress he had on the floor in his apartment with Aydin. Bastien didn’t really know what he and Ekho were to each other, they’d been fucking for a few months anyways. Was a label all that necessary? He didn’t want to think so. “So you live here with all the dryads?” Bas questioned, curious as he strode through the den and looked at the obvious wood rot in the ceiling, the place sort of suited them. Half home and half claimed by nature. “It’s nice.” 

-

Ekho grinned as he looked up at the hole in the ceiling, covered by the branches of trees. In fact, most of the patch jobs in the house had been done with wood and fallen branches from their tree friends that had donated them. Humans built houses with wood anyway, so Ekho’s brilliant idea was just that – brilliant. “It is nice, isn’t it? There are places where we plan to put more trees, so they can live in the house too and still get sunlight. They’ll grow through the ceiling but that’s okay. Eurydice went to a thrift shop – picked up more furniture. You ever been to one of those places? People give things away for free.”

“Did he now?” Hands on her hips for a moment, she opens her mouth to speak, to scold and then she stammers, cheeks just barely tinted pink. And she reaches for Ekho’s upper arm and she leads him from the house and down the hill towards town, simmering just a little.

*

The furniture sections of the local thrift stores are rife with things like large televisions and pottery that is meant to house the largest of plants. One thing she’s learned is that the mortals truly love the coffee to the point where there is a whole table dedicated to it and it is meant to go before a couch. So that is what Eurydice searches for, a short table that one could set their coffee upon. And yet she is still baffled by what Ekho had said at the house. “I do not have lovers.” She says rather petulantly in his direction as she leans down to inspect a table.

-

Ekho walked with Eurydice, smiling as she had nothing else to say about it. Clearly he was right, and he accepted that as they went into the thrift store. “So you’re telling me that people just...give away their old things, and people pay money for them? Money from trees?” He stopped in front of a fake tree, staring at it, “To buy more...plastic trees?” He moved towards the “lovers” section, looking at the lingerie that littered the rack. Picking up one, he turned towards Eurydice, “Do you think Bastien would like this?” Her statement makes him smile, “Yes you do. I can see it in your eyes. Or – you fancy someone.”

“It seems natural that the world go through its phases, Titans, Olympians, and now it’s humanities turn.” Nikandros had to learn where his place was in this new order, and what it meant for a sphinx that had been made by an Olympian in the image of something far older. “I’m sorry about your friends though, losing people you care about is never easy. I haven’t planted any trees, but forests recover on their own when given the time to recover. Like the parks here, they’re protected.” 

-

“Yes, but captive parks don’t seem like...I don’t know. Would you have much fun in a designated area? We didn’t have to worry about that, before. No one takes care of trees. It’s sad. Anyway, have you tried asking Hera for all your powers back? Or Ares? He can’t let his mum pull the ropes forever. Embarrassing.” Ekho gave a small smile, looking at Nik once more. “How many sphinxes are here?”

“I don’t think any of them are particularly nice, at least, the stories never painted them as very kind or charitable. For the most part they were all deeply flawed.” Reflections of the time, maybe. Though the difference between Gods and men always seemed to be that Gods rarely saw the error of their ways. “Ugly by their divine standards then.” 

-

Ekho smiled a little, studying Bastien’s features once more. He didn’t want any harm to come to the witch, and decided that he’d be the first to visit his new room in the new house. “I had an idea to get a house. So we have one now, all the dryads. And a place I can take you home to so you don’t have to get on your knees in the grass. Would you like to visit?”

He’s going through a lot all at once and Eurydice doesn’t mind in the slightest, finds herself nodding along as they walk the expanse of the house. “I think I’m going to go to those “thrift stores” and see what I can find for us.” Or sometimes people would just leave perfectly acceptable furniture on the side of the street. That was the next step, she wanted to at least have her room furnished. “Gael and I can drag in some things, it’s a work in progress…” She pauses and then her brows raise. “Who said anything about me having lovers?”

-

Ekho had no idea what a thrift store was, so he avoided the comment altogether. On to the next. “I can help move things. If you need any help, I guess. I can make some time.” He moved towards one of the rooms now, “Oh. Aster was being nosey, got into your business and all that. Said you were interested in bringing men home, so I suggested finding a house.”

“I have to agree, we were much more effective guardians too. Not a lot of people want to fight a flying lion.” Nikandros admitted, he’d been trapped in this form for a long time though - in truth he could hardly remember what it was like to shift. Idly Nik wondered if it was a matter of the man’s genealogy that made him so obviously full of himself, being the son of a Titan had to create more than a few personality quirks. “I don’t think anybody likes dying, or likes listening to it for that matter.”

-

Ekho rose an eyebrow, “It’s not anything like I’d ever heard before, you know. I watched the Olympians rise up. Watched the Titans fall from grace. That one didn’t hurt. Not like the forest.” Fixing the sphinx with a look, he frowned, “How many trees have you planted since you’ve come back to life?”

“I hadn’t heard, what makes you say that?” Mythology painted a very different picture of the Queen of the Underworld - though her creation of the vampires was maybe proof enough of just how far she’d fallen from being the daughter of Spring. “I think war is terrible, maybe that’s where he gets his rep from - people just came to associate him with violence.” Some wars were justified though, and crucial. “Why does that surprise you,” Bastien laughed, “because he is the ugly one?” 

-

“Just speaking from experience, really.” Ekho hummed, looking at Bastien once more. “She wasn’t the nicest olympian ever, really. Demeter wasn’t terrible. I don’t know. You spend enough time in the Underworld, you become part of it. That’s what Rhea would say.” He grinned a little more, “The ugly one? He wasn’t ugly. Even deformed gods are beautiful.”